Morissons to launch online next year after first fall in profits for six years

Posted on March 15, 2013.

Supermarket Morrisons is set to launch online in the hope of keeping up with its rivals.

The store is also hoping the move could boost sales after it suffered its first fall in profits for six years. Morrisons saw a 7 per cent fall in its pre-tax profits to £879 million. It also saw like-for-like sales down 2.1 per cent in the year to February 3rd.

Dalton Phillips, the supermarket chain’s chief executive, has pledged to turn the store around – especially concentrating on the Christmas period.

Talking about the situation, Mr Phillips told news.sky.com: “The sustained pressure on consumer spending was reflected in our like-for-like sales performance, which was not as good as it should have been.”

The supermarket also saw a 2.5 per cent fall in its like-for-like sales over the festive season, whereas Tesco, who allows customers to buy its products through online payment services, increased sales by 1.8 per cent.

Tesco also re-vamped its site last year to offer more non-food items, such as books and DVDs, according to thegrocer.co.uk. It is thought that the store singled it as an area for growth and hoped to compete more with companies such as Amazon, Apple and eBay.

Walmart’s Asda and J Sainsburys, which are the other two of the “big four” supermarkets, also offer online websites to its customers which cater to home delivery of food.